Addison boys basketball pulls away for win over Napoleon

When the chips were down, the Addison High School boys basketball put its faith in junior Luke Meyer.

Meyer did not disappoint as the Panthers outscored Cascades Conference rival Napoleon 20-6 in the fourth quarter to earn a 57-43 win on Thursday night.

After being held to seven points in the first half, Meyer exploded in the second and scored 21 of Addison's 33 second-half points. Meyer, who recently committed to Central Michigan, finished the night with 28 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

"Luke is a very important player for this team," said Addison coach Andrew Kubish. "He's our go-to man, and we went to him early and often tonight. He ended up with a great stat line against a good defense and a great defender in Kohl Roberts."

The first quarter was far from pretty for either team. Addison (3-1, 1-0 Cascades) struggled to find a rhythm on offense, turning over the ball multiple times due to poor passing. The Pirates' only bright spot was Roberts, who scored all eight of Napoleon's first-quarter points. Luckily for Addison, Roberts picked up his second foul late into the quarter and had to sit the remainder of the half.

"Roberts gave Luke a lot of trouble early on," admitted Kubish. "Once he got two fouls, he had to back off defensively, and that's when Luke really began to heat up."

The second quarter saw the Panthers at their worst and their best. Napoleon immediately went on a 7-0 run at the start of the quarter, putting Addison in a 15-8 hole. The Panthers battled back, scoring nine consecutive points to give them a 17-15 lead.

With the Panthers starting to gain momentum, Addison suffered an unfortunate injury. Tyler Corbin, one of Addison's best players, went down hard with a rolled ankle. Corbin had scored Addison's previous five points and did not return to the game.

"Tyler was playing on a bum ankle coming into the game, and it rolled up on him tonight," Kubish said. "He tried to make a cut during the game and ended up stepping on a Napoleon player's foot, rolling it underneath him. Tyler wanted to get back in there, but I held him out so he didn't make his ankle worse."

Kubish went on to state how important Corbin is to the Panthers.

"It's unfortunate he got hurt, because he was just starting to heat up," Kubish said. "Once he got back on the bench, he was a great teammate for the other guys. He could have sat there and pouted, but he was very into it. He was the best teammate anyone could have asked for."

With Corbin out, the Pirates took advantage and reeled off back-to-back 3-pointers. Meyer answered back, sinking a deep 3 as the half came to an end, giving Addison a 24-23 halftime lead.

The third quarter was an all-out battle between the teams. Addison and Napoleon traded points back and forth the entire quarter, neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage. The game was deadlocked in a 37-37 tie as the fourth quarter began.

The fourth quarter was all Addison from beginning to end.

Meyer quickly began to pick apart the Pirate defense, sinking several turnaround jumpers and slamming down a powerful dunk as an exclamation point.

With Meyers rolling, the rest of the Panthers weren't far behind. The duo of Jarett Flynn and Mitchell Dempsey began to drive to the basket, drawing several fouls and putting the Pirates post players into foul trouble.

The Panthers made Napoleon pay at the foul line, finishing 5-for-7 in the fourth quarter and 18-for-24 on the night, including Meyer going 7-for-8. With a substantial lead, the Panthers took their foot off the gas during the final two minutes and coasted to the win.

"We knew that if we could contest their shooters, we could take over this game," Kubish said. "Once Napoleon's shots stopped falling, we were able to pull away."

Flynn finished with nine points and five assists, while Gabe Guerra had seven points, five rebounds and two steals. Dempsey added six points, three assists and four steals for the Panthers.

"We're a great young team," said Meyer. "The entire team stepped up tonight. We have four games under our belt now, and we're improving with every game."